2026-03-13: A Difficult Memory
- Log: A Difficult Memory
- Cast: Yukari Takeba, Reiya Aomori
- Where: Gekkoukan High School - Classroom Building
- OOC Date: March 13, 2026
- IC Date: September 19, 2012 (Flashback)
- Summary: Yukari asks Reiya to meet her to discuss what happened with Beniho, who SEES rescued from Tartarus. As it happens, she remembers more than usual...
(|================ Gekkoukan High School - Classroom Building ================|)
-======================================= Iwatodai City/Tatsumi Port Island ====-
Gekkoukan High School features a rich and lavish atrium which blends modern and
classical architecture, with wide-open windows welcoming students into an
entrance hall with massive Grecian pillars and an impressive stained-glass wall
at its other end. The Sword and Staff Statues displayed prominently here are a
popular meet-up point! Here, as well, one can find the event bulletin board,
various faculty and club rooms, the nurse's office... and most importantly, the
school store, where one can buy Gekkoukan's various popular breads. A classical
stone corridor outside passes by a beloved Persimmon tree in a garden where
students can relax on benches, before leading students to the gymnasium, where
one can enjoy the indoor swimming pool and running track available here.
Up the stairs, the halls are sleek and modern, with diamond- and square-tiled
flooring and traditional sliding doors. Corkboards on the hall walls are
decorated with a dozen club posters, advertising the many after-school
activities available to students here, and water fountains at the end of the
hall are available to quench one's thirst. Inside the classrooms, one finds more
of that square tiling, on which stand desks and chairs two a row. A raised
podium allows teachers to lecture behind a blackboard or a projector screen
which can be pulled down to display their slides, while a desk off to the side
at the front of the class gives them a place to seat themselves down. The
windows are wide and expansive, covering an entire wall; there are windows
leading out into the hall, as well, and they can be slid back for the curious to
peek into the classroom. The back of the room features a second blackboard,
alongside shelving for books. (And... manga? Who put those here...?)
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
The bell rings.
Class is out for the day. There's no club for her today. Instead, she waits about five minutes after class, then heads for the stairs to the rooftop.
Thankfully at the end of the school day, people are rarely here. Up she goes. Turbines gently turn against the autumn sea breeze.
She doesn't see anyone.
"... You'reeeee up here already, aren't you?" She mumbles to herself.
They agreed to meet here to discuss what she found out, so she figures he's either here already, or on his way.
Given her luck she's guessing it's the former.
<Pose Tracker> Reiya Aomori has posed.
Ring, ring.
"Yes," Reiya answers, because indeed he's already up here. They agreed to meet up, and of course, Reiya is punctual. Indeed; he steps up some distance behind Yukari, away from the roof access door.
"I didn't want to be late."
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
"Gah!" Even expecting it, it startles her when he steps out of hiding. "... I knew this was going to happen."
And it still took her off guard anyway.
"Uh. Geez where to start... she's doing alright."
Maybe a little lonely in patient but she's not gonna guilt trip him like that.
"... And she remembers basically everything... in the broadest strokes. Just... she's kinda missing the details?"
<Pose Tracker> Reiya Aomori has posed.
"You seem surprised," Reiya notes, despite that Yukari said she knew it would happen. But more importantly, Yukari starts to explain. "Good," he says immedaitely, and then.. frowns, thoughtfully.
"That's..."
"Do you think that means she has the Potential...?" He doesn't sound thrilled about the idea. "That's unusual, though. Even I don't remember my first Dark Hour."
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
"You'd be surprised, if you were a girl and a guy in your life could do that." She insists, "It's just a reflex, I guess."
A reflex to having to be on guard against guys.
She answers though, hesitantly, "... I'm not... sure. It could be just like Moriyama-san. She became real nice to Fuuka-chan after they had that moment in the Dark Hour."
Looking away, "They were doing a sleep study though at the hospital. And... I'm guessing that was to check. There's not much reason for a Doctor to think that her disappearance is related to sleep-walking or anything, right?"
<Pose Tracker> Reiya Aomori has posed.
"...I see." Reiya gets it, when Yukari puts it that way. It's a little uncomfortable! That's quite a reflex...
But it's not really a fault on Yukari's part, so he doesn't bring it up. Instead, "I see." He says that a lot. "...But she only remembered subconsciously, I think. If..."
Hm.
"No, there isn't. Though I worry what her parents will think."
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
"Yeah. Like she knew there were monsters... I didn't commit to that, but..."
She trails off.
"It depends on what she says I guess. She uh, remembered you were leading us. And she remembered me. So it could get awkward if she decides to say anything..."
A beat.
"...she's grateful of course but, in your case especially it could look pretty bad if they thought you were involved with how she disappeared to begin with."
<Pose Tracker> Reiya Aomori has posed.
"...But if she remembered that, she's unlikely to forget it."
He supplies a possible end to the sentence, anyway. But what she says... Reiya nods. "I see. I wonder, then."
He pauses, and looks to Yukari. "It... could," he agrees. "I'll have to hope the fact taht her parents liked me helps. Or maybe that she decides.."
Reiya sighs. "It's complicated. ...I don't think it's right to keep even more from her, but..."
Is there another option?
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
"... Yeah. Though hopefully it's still vague enough not to do any real harm..."
There's a lengthy pause at what he says. "Well sure but... it's still a lot to swallow. And what would we even say you saved her from? It's not like we can pretend she was kidnapped or something."
Indeed, Yukari's not certain herself what to say she saved her from if it came down to it.
...
"Well there's no need to tell her everything either. She's... got a sense of what we're up to, and she trusts us enough that I don't think she'll be asking for more. But..."
Her expression looks disturbed, "... still."
<Pose Tracker> Reiya Aomori has posed.
"I guess that means it's inconvenient that she remembers. At the same time... Part of me wishes she could. At the same time, i wish she remembered none of it. It's too dangeorus... but it feels as if her understanding means..."
He sighs. "Yes. It is a lot. And I have... complex feelings about it."
5rA look back to Yukari. "Yes, it's... best, not to tell her more than she asks," he agrees. "I don't want to worry her further."
"...But you're bothered too, aren't you?"
"I wonder... is that why she remembers? Her connections to you and me...?"
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
"... I'd really rather nobody else get involved in what we do unless they have a really good reason..." She murmurs, looking away again.
"... But yeah, I'm bothered. A lot of people joined SEES without really thinking about it. It's not like we can tell them everything about what it's like - what it means to do this. She might make up her mind to join just because we're here."
...
She does look back his way, "I'm not, sure. Usually it's weird for a person before they have an experience like this right? Like something 'happens'." Lacing her hands behind her back again, she continues, "She had an argument with her Mom right before this... so maybe it has something to do with that."
<Pose Tracker> Reiya Aomori has posed.
A really good reason. "Right."
"I don't want her in that kind of danger. ...That's part of why my mother told me not to tell her..." He gestures. "Everything. She said it was important that I keep our family secrets, that it would endanger those who knew--and us. That it was my duty to keep it from others..."
He's not as sure, now. After all, SEES knows.
But Yukari isn't sure. Neither is Reiya, frankly. "Right," he says. "And her mother..."
"She always got along well with her mother when... we were together. I wonder what happened..."
"Her mother's a very practical woman. I don't think she'd believe anything she thought wsa too 'fantastical.'"
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
"Well some of the family secrets are safer than others I think. ... You know the ones that don't alter someone's life forever... maybe."
It's something they're both thinking about. Yukari doesn't like the truth being withheld, but she also doesn't like the thought of innocence being involuntarily stripped from someone.
"... Hard to say, I didn't press... and she really just wanted company by then."
A very practical woman...
"Well yeah but, that still runs the risk of... if she mentions us in whatever story she tells them. I doubt she'd mention monsters but..."
There's a chagrined look, "I did sorta bring her home that night so, there might be questions unless Officer Korosawa handles it."
<Pose Tracker> Reiya Aomori has posed.
"I suppose," Reiya says. "You never know, though. What will make a change... We only know those that definitely will."
Company... "Mm. Do you think she'd accept a visit from me?" he wonders. "I'd like to go to see her, but..." It's complicated.
"Ah, true. They might wonder."
He looks at Yukari. "...I'm sure he will. It was best that you did. Someone had to, and it would've been cruel to sen her alone."
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
"... Yeah." She agrees with that one, looking concerned.
However... his question.
"I think she'd probably be thrilled? I'm not sure where her head is right now about you, but if I had to guess uh... well, my guess is that she might want to get back together if it went well."
It's awkward in a sense to say that, but it's not a secret, it's her evaluation of the matter.
There's a nod.
Then...
"... Here's hoping, I'm not sure what I'd say really if I got called down to the koban. Like 'Oh I just found her' doesn't really cut it without other details..."
<Pose Tracker> Reiya Aomori has posed.
Yukari's guess should make Reiya happier. Indeed, he does look at her, but his expression is thoughtful, pensive. "...I'd likethat," he admits. "I miss her. But... If I can't be honest with her about all of this, will it just lead us to the same place we were...?"
"I don't want to put her in danger. Even if that means I don't get to see her."
"But is that even the right way to think about it? Should it be her decision, mine... or ours?"
"If I could tell her everything..."
He sighs.
"Well," he says, turning back Yukari's way. "if you're arrested, i'll break you out. I can do that much."
...Is he kidding?
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
"That's... hard to say. I suppose that's a conversation the two of you are just going to have to have."
If it's something they both can accept, or if it's an untenable position in the long term.
"I don't know. I'm not sure there's anything you can tell her that would make it an... informed decision, either way."
She offers awkwardly, "So I think you and her just have to figure it out the best you can. If she doesn't have the Potential, maybe it could work out that way."
Yukari is having a rough time here, having never dated anyone. She just - listens to a lot of girls in relationships.
"Thank- wait a minute. Don't do that! Then we'd just be in even more trouble!"
A beat.
"I don't want to be some fugitive."
Look she can never tell when he's making a joke.
<Pose Tracker> Reiya Aomori has posed.
"...Yes," he says. "I suppose that's all it is." But it's awkward. It's difficult. "That's the problem..."
He nods, then. "Thank you. And.. I apologize. I've said too much. But I really care about her... It probably isn't fair to ask these things of you, though."
But then--
He seems to think about it a moment. "That would be a problem..." He tilts his head. "Yes, a significant problem."
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
"Hey it's fine. It's not like uh- this isn't the kind of problem most people have. Who else would you talk to about this, Junpei-kun?"
No, Junpei is great in many circumstances but definitely not THIS one.
The way he says that, causes her to double take.
"Let's just leave that to the Kirijo lawyers if it happens. ... Better than calling my mom."